Ryan Kwanten, Amy Smart, and Leslie Bibb Join 7500; Aldis Hodge and Shiloh Fernandez Head to THE EAST

We’ve got a couple of casting stories for you this afternoon. First up, Amy Smart, Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), and Leslie Bibb (Zookeeper) have signed on for the thriller 7500. Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge) is directing the pic from a script by Craig Rosenberg (The Uninvited). Yesterday we brought you some first synopses from a number of films being sold at AFM this week, and 7500 was among them. The pic tells the story of a group of passengers who begin to experience frightening supernatural phenomena after a passenger mysteriously dies in flight. Those remaining are left to wonder if they’re next. Variety reports that Kwanten and Smart will play a married couple who board the flight with two of their longtime friends for a trip to Japan, while Bibb will play “a stewardess involved in a complicated and secret relationship.”

Hit the jump for casting news concerning the indie thriller The East, which stars Brit Marling and Ellen Page.

Additionally, Aldis Hodge (Leverage) and Shiloh Fernandez (Red Riding Hood) have joined the cast of the eco-thriller The East. The film stars Alexander Skarsgard, Brit Marling, and Ellen Page and centers on the employee of a private contracting firm (Marling) whose job is to protect corporations from eco-terrorists and extremists. She goes undercover at an anarchist organization known as “The East”, but soon begins falling for the group’s leader (Skarsgard). Zal Batmanglij (Sound of My Voice) is directing the film from a script he co-wrote with Marling. THR reports that Aldis will play an ex-military character who is affiliated with the group, while Variety reports that Fernandez will play a “free-spirited and sexually adventurous” member of the group.

Hodge currently stars on the TNT series Leverage, while Fernandez recently starred in Red Riding Hood and the indie Skateland. Sound of My Voice earned strong reviews from Sundance, where Marling was something of a breakout star. She also starred in and co-wrote the sci-fi pic Another Earth, and recently landed a key role in Robert Redford’s next directorial effort The Company You Keep. Batmanglij has put together quite the cast here, and I’m looking forward to checking the film out once it’s completed.

COLLIDER participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means COLLIDER gets paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive.